EDF3021 Mathematics & Numeracy

Tanya Nguyen

SCENARIO
As part of their maths program, the class I was in for placement spent one hour a
week doing Mathletics and playing other online mathematical games. The students
were also encouraged to play Mathletics and these other games at home. After one
of these lessons, my mentor teacher told me of a parent who had expressed
concerns that they didnt think their child was learning from the technology. The
parents philosophy was that mathematics should be done on paper or mentally, and
that mathematics and technology should not be mixed. My mentor teacher told me
that she tried to explain that they had to incorporate ICT (Information and
Communications Technology) into the classroom and into lessons as it is an
interdisciplinary domain in AusVELS. The parent seemed to understand that ICT was
integral part of schooling, but was still confused as to how it was a part of
mathematics, still believing that what they were currently doing was a waste of time.
This prompted me to think of how technology is used in the mathematic classroom,
and how it is seen to be used by the wider community. Goos (2013, pg. 135) asks,
is technology meant to help students get the answer more quickly and accurately,
or to improve the way they learn maths?. At the moment, I think the school
community, and the parent, believe its the former, and that is the issue. We have the
technology, the question we should be asking is how we can use it for beneficial and
meaningful mathematic education so that we dont get parents coming in concerned
that technology is corrupting their childs mathematical education.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Technology has been a part of mathematics for a very long time. Since the
introduction of calculators in classrooms in the 1970s, digital technologies have been
present and available in school mathematic classrooms (Goos, 2013, pg. 135),
causing many inquiries into their purpose and role. Their continued use in the
classroom today, however, proves that they have endured time and criticism. With
the rise in newer technologies, calculators are now being relaced by computers and
mobile devices, which have their own strengths and weaknesses, and are now being
heavily scrutinised to see their effect on education.
Pierce & Ball (2009) state that it is the common belief that the incorporation of
computer technology into mathematics teaching and learning motivates and engages
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students (as cited in Attard & Northcote, 2011, pg. 29) and learning through
technology can give [students] access to powerful new ways to explore concepts at a
depth that has not been possible through traditional ways of teaching (Moradmand,
Datta & Oakley, 2012, pg. 40). As this idea and philosophy spread, a revision to
current mathematic curriculum was needed, with The Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the Australian National Standards for
Teachers (AITSL) and the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young
Australians all now including a focus on the use of ICT in classrooms and across the
curriculum. The Melbourne Declaration states that young people need to be highly
skilled in the use of ICT (MCEETYA, 2008, pg. 5), and the Australian Curriculum has
embedded technology into its curriculum, for example, this is a part of the year 6
mathematic curriculum: Select and apply mental and written strategies and
appropriate digital technologies to solve problems involving all four operations with
whole numbers (ACMNA123 (ACARA, 2016).
However, as demonstrated from that curriculum outcome (and the others on the
ACARA website), the implications of statements like these is that ICT methods
should do no more than provide an alternative, and perhaps quicker, method of
completing the task, rather than transforming the nature of the task itself in
developing students mathematical understanding (Goos, 2012, pg. 146).
Furthermore, in many school settings, ICTs are still only used as tools for designing
instruction material and delivery, not as learning devices or central components of
teachers instructional programs (Liu, 2010; Yelland et al., 2001, as cited in
Moradmand, Datta & Oakley, 2012, pg. 40). Niess et al. (2009) agree, stating that
even though ICT has been available for many years, the primary uses are still for
demonstration, verification, and drill and practice, rather than in the development of
mathematical concepts and higher-order processes (as cited in Day, 2014, pg. 23).
Skillen (2009, pg. 33-34), however, was able to find that technology does support the
primary school curriculum through points such as encouraging children to have a
positive attitude to a subject, developing confidence within children through
applying skills in practical, real-life situations, and providing opportunities for
revision and reinforcements of concepts covered.

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The results of a survey conducted in Western Australia showed that 94% of schools
indicated that ICT was used in mathematics teaching regularly or occasionally and
some of the uses of ICT in the classroom include: drill and practice programs and
games; tutorial software that showed students how to work through procedures; as a
source of feedback on responses (Day, 2013, pg. 17-18), just to name of a few. The
survey also showed that 100% of students had access to Interactive White Boards
(IWB), 60% to clusters of computers and 10% to mobile technologies, and the ICT
resources used to teach mathematics included: the internet, IWB software and
Mathletics (Day, 2013, pg. 18-19).
IWBs have slowly been incorporated into the classroom over the last decade,
however, their use in lessons have mostly been focused on teacher use rather than
student use (Kennewell & Higgins, 2007, as cited in McQuillan, Northcote &
Beamish, 2012, pg. 4), causing controversy. Thats why a lot of schools are trying to
emphasis student participation, and to use the IWB to incorporate a wide range of
strategies for the facilitation of learning (McQuillan, Northcote & Beamish, 2012, pg.
4). A study was done in two New South Wales primary schools on the effects of
IWBs in their mathematical classrooms, and found that students liked using the
IWB and the IWB impacted positively on student motivation (Hall & Higgins, 2005;
Knight et al., 2005, as cited in McQuillan, Northcote & Beamish, 2012, pg. 4).
Additionally, students felt that they understood more, were more engaged and noted
that computers were fun tools which helped them learn (McQuillan, Northcote &
Beamish, 2012, pg. 5). Similarly, teachers reported positivitely on the IWBs as well,
believing that students were more engaged in the learning process when the IWB
was used and that the three modalities of learning (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic)
were heightened with the use of the IWB (McQuillan, Northcote & Beamish, 2012,
pg. 5). Furthermore, Buckley (2002) suggests that a dimension of interactivity, in
addition to the student-student and teacher-student interactivity, is the relationship
between digital information and the learning process (as cited in McQuillan,
Northcote & Beamish, 2012, pg. 5-6). However, a question that must be asked is: is
the current use of IWBs really benefiting students to the best of its ability? Northcote,
McQuillan & Beamish (2012, pg. 6) state that a substantial amount of IWB software
is currently available to schools which include mathematical tools and games, but
teachers preferred to use familiar computer-based software, which shows that
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while IWBs are being incorporated into the classroom, they arent being used in the
most constructive way.
Mathletics, Australias most used maths website (Mathletics, 2016), is a website
that provides targeted, adaptive and engaging content from Kindergarten to Year
12that meet the requirements of national and state-based curricula with reporting
and assessments to match (Mathletics, 2016). According to the Western Australian
study mentioned above, 60% of schools used Mathletics as a mathematical resource
(Day, 2013, pg. 19) and has many strengths. Costello (2010, pg. 9)) points out that
Mathletics lets teachers teach and students learn according to their preferred styles
and that it provides real-time feedback to both students and teachers. Furthermore,
it uses Vygotskys zone of proximal development (the distance between what a
learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help (Churchill et al.,
2011, pg. 77)) to adapt the task to the student and to keep them at a level that
allows them to be stretches slightly beyond their current level, in a supportive
environment (Costello, 2010, pg. 9). Additionally, Mathletics allows students to
monitor and self select, repeat, backtrack, in their own time, with clear visual
feedback (Costello, 2010, pg. 9), giving the students control of their own learning.
However, we must also question whether Mathletics too is being used to the best of
its potential both inside and outside the classroom. The Mathletics website informs
that the program can be used on a computer or a tablet, yet, Ive only seen it used
on the former in schools. Perhaps it is because the iPad (or tablet) users only
narrowly look for mathematics focussed applications that more often than not focus
on drill and practice through games (Attard & Northcote, 2011, pg. 30). Mathletics
could be even more influential and beneficial to students if schools incorporated the
use of mobile technologies as they offer much more in terms of allowing students
access to a broad range of tools that have the potential to enhance teaching
practices, student engagement, and student learning (Attard & Northcote, 2011, pg.
30).
Goos (2012, pg. 137) advocates for the incorporation in mathematics, believing that
technology can change the nature of mathematical knowledge and the
environments in which students learn mathematics. This is further elaborated by
Farrell (1996) and Makar & Confrey (2006), who say that students can engage in
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more active mathematical practices such as experimenting, investigating, and

problem solving that bring depth to their learning and encourage them to ask
questions rather than only looking for answers (as cited in Goos, 2012, pg. 137).
Goos goes on to say that many teachers are already using technology to enhance
students understanding and enjoyment of mathematics and that it is their job to
prepare students for intelligent, adaptive, creative and critical citizenship in a
technology-rich world (Goos, 2012, pg. 150). However, it has been pointed out that
there is a danger of technology driving pedagogy, rather than pedagogy driving the
technology (Attard & Northcote, 2011, pg. 29). Technology must be embraced, but it
also must be used appropriately. As Prensky (2013) states, technology gives kids
power that people their age have never had. Lets help them use it wisely (as cited
in Skillen, 2014, pg. 33).
DISCUSSION AND JUSTIFICATION
One of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics principles is technology is
essential in teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is
taught and enhances students learning (NCTM, 2000, as cited in Goos, 2012, pg.
145). There is no doubt that, in this technology-cantered world, schools will be, and
are already, affected by the outside world, bringing in cultural influences like
computers, laptops and mobile devices.
In response to the scenario described above, I believe that the best way to address
the situation is for the parent to see how much mathematics is actually embedded in
technology, and not just in mathematical-oriented technology. I would invite them in
to a math lesson that incorporates technology, such as a Mathletics lesson, to
provide them with the opportunity to see that ICT has the capacity to strengthen
students risk-taking, confidence, persistence and engagement by offering private,
instant and non-judgmental feedback (Day, 2014, pg. 26). I would assure them that I
believe traditional mathematics is still incredibly important, but the future depends on
technology, hence, I would discuss the implications of incorporating technology in the
mathematics classroom, emphasising that it ensures that students are more
equipped for the future (Kissane, 2009, as cited in Attard & Northcote, 2012, pg. 32).

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Digital technologies are artefacts that have no instrumental value until they are
usedthey become instruments when the individual[s] construct schemes of use or
appropriate social pre-existing schemes (Goos, 2012, pg. 138), so it is up to schools
to find a wise and appropriate way of using technologies so that they are of value to
their students and the future generation. As Moradmand, Datta & Oakley (2012, pg.
40) state, the issue is no longer whether ICTs should be integrated in existing
[mathematical] classroom practices, but how to use it to transform teaching and
create new opportunities for learning.

EDF3021 Mathematics & Numeracy

Tanya Nguyen

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